


The Garden and The Wasteland

by Meowcenary



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Eden AU, Garden of Eden, Lilith from mythology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-14
Updated: 2019-08-14
Packaged: 2020-08-23 15:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20245354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meowcenary/pseuds/Meowcenary
Summary: An AU in which Crowley begins life as Lilith and Aziraphale shows up as an un-fallen Samael.





	The Garden and The Wasteland

**Author's Note:**

> I was interested in the idea of Crowley as Lilith and Lilith as the snake of Eden so I decided to explore the concept with a myth-inspired fic. In many myths a fallen Samael is mentioned as Lilith's spouse or partner. It is said that Samael began as the angel of the physical world before he fell so that is where we begin. I also wanted to play with gender, choice, transformation, and self-actualization so there's a bit of that here with Crowley. This is my first published fic and I am always working to improve so please feel free to add suggestions if you feel inclined.

In a beginning that was before the beginning in Eden, there was only a light. The light in the void was so bright and so massive that it burst. In the explosion, it formed a universe. As the light fanned out from its center it fragmented and each spark became a new life. As They would later do with the plants and the animals that were not yet created, the Original Source named each new point of light. One such beam was named Lilith. Lilith was a lightbringer, a source of knowledge, an obedient and loyal servant of the Source.

  
Eden was an experiment. The Source wanted to know if They could make a world with life and have it survive. They created the idea of a garden and the reality of a paradise. They created two lives to be mirrors of each other and They sent their most cherished lightbringer to teach the newly living creatures truths of the universe.

  
When Lilith arrived in Eden she was given a body with clawed feet, broad speckled wings, flaming red curls, and wide hips. She was not man, nor woman but both and neither and all and none. Perhaps her most striking features were the red-orange eyes with round, dark pupils that seemed to look through, rather than at you. She was wise and she was on a mission to bring knowledge to Eden.

  
At first, she came down once every few rotations of the Earth to give Eve or Adam some brief advice and news of the cosmos. Soon, though, the three became friends and Lilith spent most of her time in the garden. Lilith and Eve grew especially close and the lightbringer was often found reclining at the edge of a clear lake, head in Eve’s lap, talking about the time before time and memories of a hivemind light Source. Eve was endlessly entertained by Lilith’s tales of the universe. Even if she found the stories hard to believe, she enjoyed her time with Lilith almost more than she enjoyed her time with Adam. Adam hadn’t traveled the cosmos. In fact, Adam, like Eve, had never left Eden and therefore couldn’t possibly know anything more than Eve already knew. This fact never stopped him from telling Eve all about life as though she couldn’t observe the truths of the newly formed Earth herself.

  
One afternoon, as Lilith was whispering into Eve’s ear the story of how she helped place the Sun in the sky, a dark cloud passed in front of the star’s light. This was the first dark cloud on Earth and it was a summons. Lilith knew the Source was displeased with her but she wasn’t sure exactly what she had done to upset Them.

  
Lilith returned to the stars and asked her Source how she had erred. The cosmic storm that surrounded her light was furious. Soon, she knew. God was angry. Her Source mother was no longer in charge and the ego named God had replaced Them. Lilith raced back to Eden to tell Eve. She knew God was watching and that if she wanted to get her message to Eve, she must be creative.

*

A large black snake with a smooth red belly slithered into the garden of Eden. This was the first of its kind and it seemed out of place even in a garden that spawned new animals daily. The serpent wove its way to the fig tree at the center of the garden and wound up the trunk, resting on a low branch. Hsssssssss heard Eve as she approached the new creature. She reached out a hand as a gesture of friendship and the snake nudged a ripe fig into her palm. Lilith wanted Eve to remember their last moments together as sweet and tender, like the fruit. She waited as Eve finished licking the last drops of juice off her fingers, smiling at the snake. Lilith savored the last gaze of innocence that would grace Eve’s face.  
“That was delicious,” she grinned.  
To Eve’s surprise, the snake spoke back, “hsssssssss Eve, you mussssst Know.”  
“Lilith?” Eve jumped, “is that you?”  
“Yesssss darling, yesss but I don’t have much time.”  
“What do you mean?”  
“Ssssssssssssshhhhh. Lissssssten. Lisssten well, sweet Eve.”  
“Ok, ok what is it?” asked Eve, confused and worried.  
“Closssely: God is Great. God is Good. God is Prideful. God is Wrathful. God is Almighty.” With her message delivered, Lilith slid down the tree and disappeared into the thicket. She hoped Eve had understood her warning but had no time to explain.

*

A large spotted owl with wide, burning eyes flew over the walls of Eden into the wastelands beyond. The outside land was a blank space that God had not yet populated. There were no fruit trees, no lakes, and no waterfalls. There were experiments, however. Outcast creatures that God had discarded as abominations inhabited the wastelands. Here lived giant lizards that stood on two legs, lions with great manes and piercing fangs, and large black cats that moved silently in the dark. The birds did not sing but cawed. They were not small and brightly colored but were the color of the desert. These large birds had hooked beaks and talons and ate flesh over berries. Now, among the other monsters, crawled the first giant black snake.

  
Lilith wove her way through the desert, searching for a place to stop but the landscape would not change. As far as she could see in every direction were endless sands and the blackest night peppered with the stars she had hung.

*

Suddenly, God spoke, “You dare disrespect me, my lightbringer? After I created you? After I nurtured you and taught you all you know? You betrayed me by slandering my name to the human. Do you know what this means? I have destroyed them. Their Eden is no more, razed to the wastelands you traverse so desperately.”  
Lilith thought of Eve. The great snake transformed now into her claw-footed form and began to weep.

  
“I will recreate Eden but because of your digression, I will punish the new woman creature. She will not be allowed to disobey as she will be weak, plucked from Adam’s side.”  
Lilith screeched a furious, pained wail that echoed through the desert. The death of Eve marked the first lost love in all of time and Lilith’s disobedience marked the first ever rebellion. She began to fly at fierce speeds toward where Eden had been. She could still hear God in her mind.

  
“You are exiled here, Lilith. You are nothing but a crawling, conniving traitor. You will never again be allowed in my paradise nor in the cosmos and will wander this wasteland for eternity.”  
Lilith reached the rubble of Eden. The entire garden had been burned and all that remained was a scorched husk that was once a fig tree. She landed on one of the few remaining branches. She buried her head in her wings and continued her sorrowful wails. God was gone now and all that remained was a fallen star, a burned tree, and endless desert.

*

Countless years later and some distance off, a white-robed angel appeared on the barren Earth. His hair was made of thin white wisps and a look of fondness and determination was set into his face. Samael had been sent to survey the wastelands and decide if the expanse could be salvaged. God had plans for a world that was nothing like Eden and They thought the barren desert was as good a place as any to begin building. When he got there, the discarded land existed as undeveloped, non-physical grounds. With the wave of a hand the ground became solid, a sun rose in the black skies, and a soft wind began to blow. He had decided. This was the place, the plane on which he would build the physical world.

  
Through his explorations of the endless desert he came across a tree. He had been told this plane was a blank space. But here, standing before him, was a structure he knew he hadn’t created. Slowly, curiously, he approached. As he neared the tree’s husk he noticed a figure slumped at the base among the twisted roots.

  
The desert had been cruel to the entity once known as Lilith. With no food, no water, and no sleep they had grown gaunt. Their hips narrowed, their wings blackened, and their claws had been mangled from wandering. They heard a noise. _Impossible, there is no one here. There will never be anyone here._  
Softly, Samael addressed the creature, “Who are you and how did you find this place?”  
The face that appeared from under a soot-stained wing was angular with thin lips and wide, golden eyes. It peered at the angel whose bright blue eyes stared back with curiosity and concern.  
“I am…..Crawling..Crawley, They told me..” whimpered the creature.  
“That’s a bit literal, isn’t it? I don’t see you crawling now,” spoke Samael.  
“No, not anymore. It was a mistake. Never again,” the figure swore.  
“Let us find you a new name and I will help you to heal,” the angel thought he could use some help developing such an infinite expanse of reality and was glad to run into a new friend.  
“I have been considering an old name. One I heard whispered in the cosmos once,” whispered the figure.  
“Yes? What is it, then?” encouraged Samael.  
“Crowley.”  
“Hm,” paused Samael, assessing the sound of it, “I like it,” he nodded. “I deem you Crowley and you will help me build this world.”

Now, with a proper name, the entity formerly known as Lilith and once labeled Crawley, became fully realized as Crowley. Samael helped his new companion to his feet. He waved a hand and the creature’s wounds healed. With another gesture the scorched feathers mended and his wings filled out. Crowley stretched them to their full length and noticed that they no longer ached. His claws slowly morphed into feet and the angel created a set of grey robes and sandals for him.  
“Thank you..?”  
“Oh, it’s Samael.”  
“Thank you, Samael,” said Crowley with a tone of pure gratitude, “you have no idea how long I’ve been here, alone. I had no hope that anyone would ever come.”  
“Well, let us leave this tragic scene, we have much work to do.” The angel longed to know what had happened. He wanted to know what had been here in the wastelands that was now nothing but ruins but he knew better than to ask right now. His gesture may have healed the body of his new companion but the mind would have to work itself out.

  
The pair walked off into the desolate lands. As they walked, they spoke of plans for the Earth and the habitats they would create together. Behind them rocks, trees, rivers, and animals sprung up and populated the Earth. The angel saw a pain behind the creature’s eyes. He seemed ancient, much older than the angels. His eyes were sorrowful but something in the way his chest heaved when he looked at Samael sent a pang of warmth and affection through the angel. Whatever he was, whatever his sin that earned him apparent exile, _this one was different._


End file.
